carbon fiber door panels??
 

anyone know where i can get a set for a 59 bettle ?? thanks

brian

59 beetle lol not bettle :D

The only source I knew is no longer in the game. My addendum to co-ponder is Could a flat panel of carbon fiber be had and then cut into the proper shape and dimensions for use?

Hi

They would certainly look cool.

The only thing that worries me is what the carbon fibre will behave like in a serious accident, will it break into lethal shards and hurt you or your passengers? Can someone who knows more about this subject than me answer this?

Steve

it depends on the way its laid steve but it has that potential. this is why carbon fibre based hockey sticks have been banned in field hockey.

Normally i would agree, but if youre in an accident, carbon fiber panels are the least of your worries. Not that im doubting the crash-worthyness of a VW, but put a layer of Dynamat or something behind the panels and it should help.

When you see an accident on the track, the puff of smoke is the carbon fiber exploding. The shredded panels are still held together by the kevlar, not the carbon fiber.

I would have considered a c/f-kevlar combo from Carbon Joe. Since he is no longer in business, I personally wouldn't go the c/f-only route for panels, but we all have our own threshholds for acceptable risk.

if no one is making the door panels i am sure i could cut them myself does anyone have a source to get sheets of carbon fiber sutable for making the door panels out of?

thanks

brian

eBay...if it's purely asthetic...thread count doesn't matter...just get the cheapest cloth you can find, pour wax over your panels(or a piece of wood shaped like your panels), and make your own. Since they're flat, and just more or less a sheet....panels are cake to make.

Or, you can buy premade flat sheets on eBay, and cut them to shape....

i have heard that carbon fiber lays like fiberglass i did buy a kit to do another project with and never did it. if i lay it on wood though is it going to come out smooth i heard u need to lay it on glass or mirror so it was smooth is that true? anyone have experience with laying carbon and could help out lmk thanks

brian

Laying it on glass is what you want to do if you want a flat/shiney finish. You will need to work it to remove all air bubbles too.

Dont get too hung up on it looking perfect, take your time and above all LEARN from your mistakes, be prepared to experiment and I am sure you will have some good results, and a barrel of laughs getting there!

:D

SAm C

thanks i appreciate the help. i looked on ebay for premade panels but i dont see anything large enough everything i see is only like 12x12 in. do u have a link to larger panels? lmk thanks for all your help

brian

Brian

I have made cf pannels that were flat and looked awsome. I suggest a mirror and a vacuum bag. If you are not famililar with the vacuum bag process I or others on the forum can help. I can send you an email on how to do it or you can look it up on the web. If you want I can see if I can make some but I am not going to guarantee it to be perfect but I dont do crap work and I wont give someone something that I wouldn't put in my own car. Let me know. My dad did cf work on some of the military fighters and he has done a 3 ft nose cone in a bag with no imperfections. I have a little bit of an edge. He also said he can make cf parts but I dont know if he will as he works in Missouri and we live in Oklahomaand he only comes home on the weekends. If you want you can send me an email at macoffin@cox.net.

mike

The guy at appbiz (I forgot his name) told me he was considering making bug panels in CF a few months ago. They currently do Porsche CF panels. See www.appbiz.com for phone number and examples. Especially sweet with the RS America door latch pull and door handle :D

Hey! everybody forgot about my idea!
 

Anyway...I'd come up with a spiff plan to make these custom panels for people, but no one ever sent me an word about it so I'd abandoned the fabrication, but I kept perfecting the way to do it.
Basicaly, I laid out the jist of it in this post...
http://www.germanlook.com/Forums/sho...ht=door+panels
Offer is still open to interested parties.
You provide me with the posters/images you want to use( as long as they'll fit the panel size) and send it to me. For $80 plus shipping I'll send you back 4 panels made with the four posters (3- if you cut a poster in half to make the rear ones) I can make up to 40"x60" (that's the size of the vaccume press I use) It's basically an experiment, but hey! It won't throw shards at ya or burn all toxic and shyte!